A Heritage of East and West: The Writings of Imam Camil Avdic - Volume One

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ĆAMIL JUSUF AVDIĆ

A PIONEERING MUSLIM SCHOLAR IN AMERICA

December 2, 1979 saw the passing of a Bosnian Muslim Imam named Ćamil Avdić. Normally this would not seem to be an extremely important event. Members of the family and of the masjid he led would have felt the loss, but the loss of Imam Ćamil Avdić was felt far beyond the confines of the four Islamic organizations that he helped to found (Muslim Religious and Cultural Home, Bosnian American Cultural Association, the Council of Imams, and the Islamic Cultural Center).

From his youth he seemed to be destined for greater things. He was born on July 10, 1914 in Plana/Bileća, Hercegovina. After receiving a traditional Islamic and secular education, he attended the Gazi Husrev-beg Madresa in Sarajevo where he received a Bachelors of Oriental Studies in 1939. From there he went to study at al-Azhar in Egypt. In 1951 he graduated from al-Azhar with the Royal Alimiyah Degree. His course of study included Ethics, Rhetoric, Arabic language & linguistics, Sirah, Islamic History, Philosophy, and Arabic Literature.

While in Egypt he acted as a translator at the post office for Bosnian and French documents. After graduation Avdić also taught French at College de Jeunne Filles Francais at Daher in Cairo.

COMING TO AMERICA

In 1954 Ćamil Avdić came to the U.S. to become imam for the small Bosnian Community in Chicago. He was sponsored by the community through the efforts of his cousin Omer Avdić. When Avdić arrived he lived several months with him. They could not afford to pay him and did not pay any imam a salary until the 1970s. He needed money to survive so he went to another community for a few years.

Before he started his education in library science, he worked as an imam, translator, and teacher at the Toledo, Ohio Arab community in 1958 and 1959. Perhaps the most important event, after his publishing the first formalized text for studying Islam in American Islamic part-time schools, was the importance he placed upon his developing role as a leader in the American Muslim community. Given this, he became a citizen of the United States on July 7, 1959.

One of the most important steps at helping this fledgling community survive was his work in the field of Islamic education. While in Toledo he wrote the first general textbook — Outline of Islam — for Islamic Sunday schools in the United States. Previously the Polish-Tatar community in New York had published a similar manual entitled The Fundamentals of Islam, and a Syrian Christian convert to Islam, George Ibrahim Kheirullah, had published a Sirah entitled Islam and the Arabian Prophet, but his was the first general textbook developed for children.

After coming to Chicago, Avdić attended Rosary College where he attained a masters’ in library science in 1963. He worked as a librarian at the John Crearer Library (1961-67), at Northwestern University (1967-70), and at Winnetka Public Library (1970-74). Besides his literary and educational achievements, Ćamil Avdić belonged to the following academic associations: American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Middle East Studies Association (MESA), Bosnian American Cultural Association (BACA), Council of Imams (CI), and the American Oriental Society (AOS).

THE MUSLIM RELIGIOUS & CULTURAL HOME

At the turn of the century a number of Bosnian Muslims began to arrive in the United States. The majority were young and single. Of the married immigrants, many were originally in Germany and had married with the resettled Danube Schwabians. It was not until after World War Two that any immigrants came from Bosnia proper. The early immigrants tended to be from Herzegovina (the poorer and more rural section of Bosnia-Herzegovina). This would continue to be the case until the 1960s when Bosnians were allowed to emigrate from Yugoslavia as workers to generate hard currency for the nation’s coffers. Dozens of these hard working pioneers were employed in digging the miles of the Chicago subway tunnels through Arif Dilić’s Pershing Construction Company.

By May 1, 1906 there were a large enough number of Bosnians to establish an organization called Džemijetul Hajrije (The Benevolent Society). This was originally established in Chicago but would later have branches in Los Angeles (January 5, 1908), Gary, Indiana (December 17, 1913), Wilpen, PA (June 15, 1915), and Butte, Montana (February 13, 1916).

The Bosnians in Montana never numbered more than 50 and were employed in copper mining and ranching. Rustem Avdić owned one of the ranches where some of the Bosnians were employed. In 1937 Asim Resulović, Hasan Memić, and Abid Demirović were buried. There are at least five graves of the early pioneers there. By 1947 the number of Bosnian had declined precipitously until only four were left. Zejnil Tanović, Omar Avdić, and other members from Butte eventually moved to Chicago and Gary.

The Los Angeles, California branch existed for a few years and was documented by at least one article in the Bosnian language journal Gajret. This periodical covered its celebration of Bayram in its December 7, 1911 issue. The Los Angeles branch was founded on January 5, 1908 with 19 members and published a booklet of it bylaws. The president of the branch at that time was Halil Faić and treasurer was Ibro Mulać. At least two of its members, Smail Vladović and Mujo Sarić, returned to Bosnia. The existence of branches of the Džemijetal Harije in Detroit and rumors of branches in Cleveland and Pittsburgh has yet to be fully documented.¹

The Los Angles group actually left Džemijetul Harije and opened Muslimansko Podpomagajuče Zvijezda on October 1, 1917. The only documentation I have found on this group is a booklet of by-laws. All the branches except those in Chicago and Gary closed after World War Two. The Džemijetul Hajrije would help with burial arrangements and hospital bills of members.

The early meeting places tended to be old-world style Bosnian coffeehouses.² Mustafa Sarić, Džemijetul Hajrije secretary from 1945 until his death in 1965, owned one of these. His was located at 1637 Clyborn Ave. and was a destination for Bosnian settlers from Gačko for over 35 years (1922-1958). A similar one owned by Smajo Kravić, secretary for Džemijetul Hajrije till his death in 1945, was located at 1713 Clyborn and served Bosnians from Trebinje from 1922-1945. The coffeehouses were patterned after one in Mostar named the Kara’ethane or Muslim Reading and Benevolent Society where, men could read newspapers, attend lectures, and help students and artisans financially.³

Many early settlers fought in both World Wars and the Korean War. Pictures of these early pioneers and veterans can be found in the Bosnian Historical Museum in the basement of Northbrook, IL’s Islamic Cultural Center. Until the coming of Ćamil Avdić the only literature the Bosnians had was published in Bosnia and the only education was done in individual homes.⁴ An exception to this was a 1949 pamphlet by Dr. Džafer Kulenović published in Chicago entitled A Message of Croat-Moslems to Their Religious Brethren in the World. An annotated version of this text and a reprint of the eighteen issues of Glasnik (1958-1960) mentioned below would add greatly to our knowledge of Islamic and Bosnian American history.

After World War Two more Bosnians began to arrive and many were relatives or persons sponsored by the earlier settlers. At Bajram (Eid) and Ramadan times the Bosnians would bring in visiting Imams. By the 1950s, at the advice of Mustafa Sarić and Omer Avdic, when this temporary arrangement for religious leaders proves to be insufficient, the community applied for a visa for Ćamil Avdić to come from Egypt.

In May of 1955 the Džemijetul Hajrije members decided to organize another organization with a specifically Islamic orientation. The Muslim Religious and Cultural Home would find a permanent home at 1800 N. Halsted St. in Chicago. Its official opening was on February 10, 1957. It would serve the needs of Muslims of many nationalities for the next twenty years.

On April 28, 1956 a Sunday school was opened for children. Teachers included Ćamil Avdić and Seid Karić (the assistant Imam). The first English language textbook for American Muslim children was written by Ćamil Avdić for these classes. This 78 page text Outline of Islam discussed faith, ethics, fiqh, and other Islamic topics necessary to study to preserve Islamic culture in this country. It was revised and republished in 1980 by Cedar Graphics as Survey of Islamic Doctrines with a chapter on Sufism added that was not in the earlier edition.

The opening of this first Bosnian masjid in America is documented in Seid Karić’s 12 page pamphlet Otvorenje Džamije i škole muslimanskog kulturnog doma u Čikagu (Chicago, 1957). Here we see some of the fruits of Ćamil Avdić’s focus on Interfaith Dialog. Much of the funding for the new center was given by Croatian sources. There are persistent rumors spread by some Bosnians from Herzegovina that Ćamil Avdić served as Croatian ambassador while he was in Egypt, but again I have no written documentation. If this was the case, that made him no less of a Muslim leader. Avdić spoke, lead prayers, and read from the Qur’an at the opening. The pamphlet describes the opening and gives a brief history of Bosnians in Chicago from 1903-1957. However, it is not possible to find out who said what unless there was a transcript or an audio made of the opening celebration.

On September 1, 1968 the name of the Muslim Religious and Cultural Home was changed to the Bosnian American Cultural Association (BACA) after discussion whether to call it the Bosnian American Cultural Home, the Croatian Muslim Center, or leave the name the same. Avdić was elected as its president. This organization carried on the work of the Muslim Religious and Cultural Home and would be the group that the multi-cultural Muslim organization Islamic Cultural Center of Northbrook, Illinois would spring from.

THE FOUNDING OF THE ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER

By 1972 a number of non-Bosnians were affiliated with BACA so a new group grew from it for their needs called ICC (Islamic Cultural Center). BACA and ICC entered into a binding waqf agreement where there would be a nine member governing body for the center with four Bosnians, four ICC members, and one Turk as members.

ICC and BACA bought land in Northbrook, IL for a new Islamic center. Groundbreaking started on September 8, 1974. The official opening ceremonies were on March 21, 1976. In October 1976 Avdić started a new quarterly periodical aimed toward both the Bosnians and the larger Muslim community entitled the ICC Newsletter.

At the opening the high ideals he set forth of working with all Muslims and dialog with non-Muslims was the focus of his speech for the ground-breaking ceremony.

This center will help its users to communicate with the Supreme Being, with the Transcendental, Infinite Power of the Universe, whatever His name may be in different languages and to seek salvation through faith in Him, coupled with good deeds and descent behavior, discipline and moral conduct. It will be a living library of knowledge, both Islamic and universal, which hopefully will help its patrons to become better men, better Americans and more useful members of the human family. The ultimate goal is to elevate ourselves to a higher degree of culture, more harmony with the realities of the present world, which is becoming, more and more, one big human family.

Further quotes from a March 21, 1976 ceremony show his feelings on presenting Islam to both Muslims and non-Muslims. There Avdić said, There is a saying in the Qur’an: ‘You Muslims you will find the closet people to you are ones who say they are Christians. That is because they have among them virtuous priests and monks who are not boastful. He also touched on ethics and racial issues. An Arab has no value over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has a value over an Arab; a white man has no merit over a colored one. and This trend in the United States toward crime and violence is very bad. We must come back to decency. That’s why we need knowledge of Islam.

At a June 1975 fund raising dinner, according to Elaine Mehlman, Saudi Arabia had donated $100,000 toward the building of ICC. 350 guests attended a dinner where Avdić was the keynote speaker. He focused on the great gift of religious freedom in America and on the duty of Muslims to be able to correct the misrepresentations about Islam in the West. Learning Islam properly makes the Muslim better humans. He stated the goal of the center was to, teach our own people the tenets and principles of Islam that will make them better men, better Americans, and more useful people.

HIS LITERARY LEGACY

Avdić was married for about a ten year period in the 60s and early 70s to Aida Kulenović but later divorced. They had no children. Since he left no children to carry on his name, his legacy spread through other means. In his Survey of Islamic Doctrines there is an appendix written by Thomas B. Irving. Irving was a pioneer in his own right helping setup Arabic studies programs at universities in Canada and in Tennessee. He also wrote an influential study of the spread of Islam entitled The Tide of Islam, translated the Qur’an into American English, and penned a biography of the last Umayyad Caliph named The Falcon of Spain. In the appendix to Avdic’s posthumously published work he wrote, Our old pioneers have been gradually disappearing, those magnificent grandfathers who arrived in this country as young men at the turn of the century. Because of them, Islam is bearing fruit in North America, and is here to stay. Now still another leader has passed on, Shaykh Ćamil Avdić of Chicago.

Irving first met him in Toledo where he was preparing his Outline of Islam text with the help of Miss Laila Talip (later Mrs. Joseph Aossey of Cedar Rapids, Iowa). That work was described as one that contained, the sort of information on Islam that young American Muslims needed, and still need today. This was Shaykh Kamil’s idea over twenty years ago and the result is now in your hands as our Community’s memorial to his services.

This last part seems strange since Irving was a French-Canadian by birth and a member of another early community Cedar Rapids that was founded in the 1930s. This is easy to explain. Avdić was a founding member of the Federation of Islamic associations of North America. This mainly Syrian and Lebanese organization was started by Abdullah Igram of Cedar Rapids. His press, Cedar Graphics, was the press that published Survey of Islamic Doctrines.

Let us go back to Irving’s initial statement: Avdić was a pioneer. What kind of pioneer? First he set forth the importance of Muslims being multi-lingual, the need for cross-cultural Muslim dialog and Religious dialog between Muslims and members of other faiths, the importance of rejecting non-Islamic political ideals such as Communism that were polluting Muslim minds around the world, educating the youth in Islam using a structured curriculum, and starting four Islamic organizations.

Avdić grew speaking Bosnian and then learned Arabic and French. In the 1940s he learned English. He taught French, but I have no evidence that he wrote about Islam in French. In the Bosnian language he had articles published in Novi Behar, Hidaja, Glasnik IVZ, and Hrvatski Glas. The articles covered the following topics: Islam in Hercegovina, the Idea of State according to Ibn Khaldūn, a memorial to Dr. Safet Basagić, religious issues in Bosnia, and Communism and its spread in the Balkans. He also wrote one book in Bosnian — Bosna u Historijskoj Perspektivi. The last work presents the thesis that Bosnians came to Islam after being Bogomils and not after being Catholic or Orthodox Christians. Most of the Bosnian language articles were published in the 1930s before Avdić went to study Arabic and Islamic studies at al-Azhar.

There was little published in Bosnian besides his 1973 book after 1939. In 1941 Avdić published his first Arabic work entitled The Present Situation of the Islamic Community in Jugoslavia in at-Thalaqa. Later he expanded on such issues in an article in Al-Masry entitled Abolition of Sharia-Court in Jugoslavia and the Trial of Muslim Leaders in Sarajevo. Most of his articles in Arabic would deal with either the Civil War in Bosnia or some other aspect of the current Muslim situation there. In 1950, he contributed My memories of Amir Shaykh Arslan to a collection of articles dedicated to the Lebanese Druze leader Amir Shakib Arslan (1869-1946).

In 1947 he published his first English language article Islamization of Bosnia-Herzegovina during the Ottoman Rule in Shaykh Muhammad Ashraf of Lahore, Pakistan’s English language journal Islamic Literature. The question, Is Islam at the Crossroads? was asked in an article published there the following year. Like Avdić, Muhammad Ashraf was a pioneer in Islamic publishing. Most texts read by Muslims in the United States and Great Britain in English before the 1970s were published by his press.

Avdić helped found the first Bosnian American journal in 1957. It was named Glasnik: Muslimanskog Vjerskog i Kulturnog Doma (Jan. 1958-Dec. 1960). I believe that only eighteen or nineteen issues were published but I’ve only seen eight of them (including Vol. 3 Issue 6). It was published bi-monthly and ran twelve pages per issue. Most articles were written by a Bosnian that signed with the initial M.H., but luminaries of the world wide Bosnian Diaspora such as Imam Avdić and Dr. Smail Balić also contributed articles. In fact, parts of Ćamil Avdić’s Outline of Islam were serialized there.

THE PUBLISHING OF OUTLINE OF ISLAM IN DETAIL

At first glance the Outline of Islam text is a deceptively simple work. It was published as a mimeographed work and spiral bound. It was not published as a more professional looking text until Cedar Graphics published it’s expand and revised edition A Survey of Islamic Doctrines in 1980. Within its seventy-five pages we find the first attempt to teach the fundamentals of all aspects of Islam not just Sirah, prayer, and fasting. There are four major section covered in this work: Articles of Faith, Five Pillars of Islam, Sources of Islamic Doctrine, and the Ethical Outlook of Islam. In the introduction Avdić writes, "The following pages contain the